Volume 1: Playing football with me will break your legs Chapter 20 I know nothing about them
August 26, 2014, 18:45 London time.
It’s 2:45 in the morning in China.
Sina Sports' leading commentator Zhan Jun started his work:
"Welcome everyone to watch the second round of the English League Cup, Manchester United away against New Wimbledon. There are 15 minutes left before the game starts. Let's take a look at the situation of the two teams first."
A group of blue players appeared on the big screen behind him:
"The home team is New Wimbledon from the fourth-tier league. This English League Two team was founded in 2002. It is undoubtedly a new team in the entire English football world, but their background is not small at all. They inherited the old team in English football, the 'Wimbledon Gang' founded in 1889. It is a team built from the bottom of its heart by fans and supporters. It has always adhered to tradition and glory, and deserves everyone's respect for this."
Zhan Jun looked at the information he had prepared in advance:
"New Wimbledon suffered some injuries in the new season, but still won four consecutive league games. In the last round of the League Cup, they faced the strong Milton Keynes and staged a Jedi reversal. But they didn't expect that the opponent in the second round would be even more formidable."
"Um……"
He hesitated for a moment:
"It is worth mentioning that the home team has a friendly Asian face, Lee Polo. It was his header that allowed the Madness to kill the enemy. Judging from his name and appearance, he is very likely a Chinese player. Unfortunately, there is too little information about the English League Two team, so we can't get a deep understanding of this 20-year-old young player."
The screen was playing footage from the previous round of the game. Li Polo jumped high in the crowd and made a visually impactful header, sentencing Milton Keynes to death!
The scene then turned to Manchester United, and Zhan Jun could finally put down the information in his hand:
"The visiting team is the familiar 'Red Devils' Manchester United. In the first season after , Manchester United, as the defending champion, only ranked seventh in the league, and the management had no choice but to fire the head coach Moyes who had a poor record. The famous Dutch coach Van Gaal took over, but the team's situation did not improve immediately. In the first two rounds of the league, they lost one and drew one, without a single win, and it was obvious that they were not on the right track. However, just this morning, Manchester United officially announced the signing of Argentina's 'Angel Wings' Di Maria from Real Madrid. The transfer fee was as high as 60 million pounds, breaking the record of the most expensive signing in the Premier League held by Torres. Such a transfer will undoubtedly bring a shot in the arm to Manchester United."
…
Thousands of miles away in England, the local TV station BBC also sent a reporting team consisting of football legend Gary Lineker and special guest, former Manchester United captain Gary Neville.
Lineker looked at the names of both teams in his hand and raised his own topic:
"Does it seem surprising to you that Manchester United were in the second round of the League Cup?"
The League Cup is a cup competition for the four professional leagues of the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two. As a top team, Manchester United used be scheduled to play in the third round. However, Manchester United's performance last season was so bad that they only ranked seventh. With no European games to play, they had to play early, which was not a good thing for Manchester United in any way.
Neville nodded:
"Indeed, it is rare."
Seeing that he didn't want to go into the topic, Lineker immediately changed direction:
"Manchester United played only one day after their last game, with almost no rest time. Judging from the 18-man squad they submitted, key players such as Rooney, Van Persie, Mata, Carrick, Ashley Young, Smalling, Jones and others were not included in the squad. New signing Di Maria will not appear in the game. Only goalkeeper De Gea is an absolute key player in the starting lineup. It seems that Van Gaal wants to let the youngsters practice their skills in a fourth-tier team. What do you think?"
Neville nodded:
"That's true. If the substitutes perform well, it may provide some positive stimulation to the main players, thus triggering healthy competition within the team..."
Lineker agreed:
"As a Manchester United legend, or as a commentator, how much do you know about today's home team?"
Neville shrugged.
"The Mad Gang, everyone in football knows this name. They play tough and powerful football and are feared in all levels of English leagues. I remember it very clearly in 1988, when I was only 13 years old. This team defeated the invincible Liverpool and won the FA Cup that year."
Lineker laughed.
"You were already a Manchester United youth player at that time, right?"
Neville also smiled:
"Right, so we were all very happy to see Liverpool lose the title."
He then put away his smile:
"But I know next to nothing about the new Wimbledon now. I'm sorry, but it's the truth."
Lineker also took it for granted:
"That's normal, man. The only thing I know about this team is that they signed Adebayo Akinfenwa this season. Maybe you have some impression of this guy?"
Neville cooperated very well and looked thoughtful:
"Oh wow, is that the strongest player in England? Look at his size, he is really oppressive!"
As the commentators chatted, players from both teams had already lined up in the tunnel and began walking onto the pitch.
As the right back, Li Polo was the third to appear after the vice-captain Smith and goalkeeper Shea who had returned from injury, while Akinfenwa, the center forward, was the last to appear.
Before the game, Li Polo thought he would be very excited, but when the moment really came, he seemed unusually calm.
Maybe it was because he was playing at home and was surrounded by the voices of supporters.
Maybe... it's just because his opponent is not as scary as he imagined?
De Gea, Michael Keane, Evans, Vermier, Janko, Powell, Anderson, Reece James, Shinji Kagawa, Hernandez, Welbeck, out of these eleven starting players, he only knew five!
De Gea is another goalkeeper in Spain after Casillas, needless to say.
Brazilian midfielder Anderson is world-famous for winning the 2008 European Golden Boy Award, and he also became the least popular winner of the Golden Boy Award.
Shinji Kagawa was once an important role in Dortmund's resurgence and even the overthrow of Bayern's dominance in the Bundesliga. With his outstanding performance, he was once regarded as the No. 1 superstar in Asia.
"Chicharito" Hernandez is the main striker of Mexico. Although he is only the third choice on Manchester United's front line, he scored 15 goals last season with excellent efficiency.
As a member of Manchester United's youth training, "Black Bay" Welbeck is not only a representative of England's new generation of strikers, but also an outstanding representative of this generation of "happy football".
These five players seem to have a prominent background, but except for De Gea, the other four are just regulars on Manchester United's bench. Compared with the main players Van Persie, Rooney, Carrick, Mata and Di Maria, their personal strength and status in the team are obviously different. As for Keane, Vermier and others, they are even more unknown. Even Manchester United fans don't understand the strength of these young players at all.
The two sides lined up and shook hands one by one to express their friendship in front of the referee team.
The broadcast camera was aimed at the 22 starting players and suddenly captured a discordant picture.
The player wearing the No. 1 blue jersey paused for a moment in front of the No. 19 red player, then said something quickly.
Welbeck, who already had dark skin, looked even gloomier at this moment!
The yellow monkey that just walked past him actually provoked him!
"Don't even think about scoring a goal in this game!"
Good boy, you want to stop the British star from scoring a goal?
Who the fuck do you think you are?
[Negative emotions from Daniel Welbeck, +5! ]
